Charles Worthington

Time Out says

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(3)

2 out of 5 stars

Time Out says

For no-nonsense blow-dries, great colour and cuts in bright, comfortable surroundings, Charles Worthington is your man. Don't be put off by the fact the salon's founder is a household name, now, by virtue of his ubiquitous haircare line and frequent television appearances – this salon is suprisingly low-key, and far more reasonably priced than many of its central London contemporaries. We have long frequented the Percy Street outlet for lunchtime blow-dries (from £36) and can’t fault the customer service – a bowl of nuts and glass of bubbly is always offered within seconds of sitting down (you can have unlimited top-ups for a £3 charge. By our reckoning, if you drink enough, you can break even). The salon is minimal but super-comfortable, and for a place with such a big name behind it, it is remarkably friendly. Upstairs (at both Percy Street and Covent Garden salons) you can get great manicures and pedicures from £13 – at the moment, they take place from a seat with footbowl rather than a full-on pedichair, but that is set to change later this summer. While the focus is on glossy cuts and colour, there is a punky new hair chalking service - for an extra £15, your stylist will give you some wash-out show-stopping colour in a prism of pinks and blues. Perfect colour for a night out that won't look like a nightmare the next day.

I was happy with my haircut for a couple of years, but they have put their prices up significantly. I used to pay £77 for my senior stylist in 2010, and last time in 2013 I paid £107. They have also taken away the 10%members' loyalty discount. Although my hairdresser was good, at the end of the day I was expected to pay over £100 for a 20 minute cut. I could not justify it and went to Windle and Moody instead, which was half the price, and if anything the cut and experience was better.

I normally don’t go out of my way to write a review but I feel urged to write one for this. After spending £280 on a full head of highlights I have never been more disappointed! To start with after looking at my colour for 30 mins the stylist insisted that I had my hair cleansed, that was fine, a trainee however did the entire thing and then I got charger £40 for the stylist! While deciding on blonde shades to use in my hair the stylist would ask the trainee questions and she literally hadn’t a clue and would just laugh! Next 3 different colours where put on the same piece of hair, so one for the roots one for the length and one where it was apparently darker. As a result of this my roots where still visible when it was finished! The colour on the roots was darker than the rest and it look awful! Also the stylist applied some highlights on the front but the majority was left to the clueless trainee, the back of my hair is embarrassing, I’m left with big chunks of brown and the highlights aren’t blended at all! I understand that people need to learn, but I was paying for a different standard and this person was absent, if I was £30 I wouldn’t feel the need to complain. After three hours they then put a toner in some of my hair! After the whole thing I just damaged my hair considerably and for no benefit. I would seriously urge people to reconsider going here it was just so disappointing and overall a waste of money and time.

Timeout have not updated this page for years. Certainly my experiences at the percy street salon do not match the time out write up. The treatment you get in the salon does not match the lavish surroundings. Clearly their prices are reflected in the decor and not the quality of the stylists. Both senior stylists I tried gave a very poor performance.